I worked out off/on for only a few weeks at a time through HS and College. I got sucked into the party scene, and later work and never made time for working out. After being laid off from a company I'd worked for for many years, I wanted to "take charge" of something, so I quit caffeine, quit smoking, slowed down on the drinking and started working out. I went from 148 to 196 in one year.

I love working out because of the satisfaction I get out of achieving personal bests in lifts, because of the way I feel when I'm not in the gym, and I love being more "attractive". When I was 148 people never noticed me, or even if somebody bumped into me, I'd never get so much as an excuse me. Now people certainly respect me more, even tho I don't go around acting like a bad ass.